Prelude and Fugue in C Major (BWV 553) (arr. John Leavitt): String Orchestra Conductor Score & Parts
By Johann Sebastian Bach / Arranged by John Leavitt
Grade: 3
Item: 35-PK01487000
$55.00
Pickup currently not available
Buy Extra Parts (Digital PDF Download)
Parts Added to Cart!
Description
Experience Bach's monumental "Prelude and Fugue in C Major" like never before! John Leavitt's masterful arrangement for string orchestra breathes new life into this iconic work. With meticulous attention to detail, Leavitt transforms the intricate counterpoint into a captivating tapestry of sound. Ideal for advanced ensembles seeking a challenging and rewarding repertoire, this arrangement is a testament to Bach's enduring genius.
Prelude and Fugue in C Major (BWV 553) (arr. John Leavitt): String Orchestra Conductor Score & Parts isn't in MakeMusic Cloud just yet...but it could be. Let us know you'd like to see it, and you'll help shape what comes next. In the meantime, start a free trial and dive into thousands of interactive titles your students can play along with today.
Request This Title
Tell us you want it.
Start Your Free Trial
Explore everything that's ready to play right now.
Sample Audio
No sample audio found.
Sample Video
No sample videos found.
Additional Details
Publisher:
Hal Leonard
SKU:
35-PK01487000
More about this title
About the Composer: Johann Sebastian Bach
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) stands as perhaps the most systematically brilliant composer in Western music history. His output spans nearly every genre available to him, from intimate keyboard works to grand choral compositions, all unified by an architectural approach to harmony and voice leading that remains unmatched.
For music educators, Bach represents both an ideal and a teaching goldmine. His music rewards deep structural analysis while remaining emotionally compelling. The Prelude and Fugue form, which Bach perfected across multiple collections, demonstrates how intellectual rigor and expressive depth coexist. His works appear in curricula worldwide precisely because they model musical thinking at the highest level.
Why we love this
Leavitt's orchestration respects Bach's counterpoint while handing each string section genuinely musical material rather than padding. The Grade 3 level makes this accessible to good high school orchestras and advanced middle school ensembles who are ready for real substance. You get a work of architectural significance that your students can actually play and hear come alive.
What to expect
The prelude opens with elegant simplicity, a figured bass unfolding beneath a singable melody, creating the sense of emerging from silence into ordered beauty. The fugue transforms that opening material into a relentless conversation between voices, rigorous yet surprisingly graceful, where Bach's genius for integrating independent lines into unified motion becomes audible.
Who it's for
Advanced Grade 3 string orchestras seeking a substantial Baroque work that challenges both technical facility and musical maturity. Ensembles comfortable with multi-voice independence and contrapuntal clarity will thrive with this arrangement.
How to get the most out of it
- Establish clear phrase hierarchy between the subject voices and accompanying lines. The fugue subject must sing through, even when it passes between instruments.
- Balance the exposition carefully; if violas and cellos obscure the prelude's opening gesture, the entire movement loses its architectural clarity.
- Allow the fugue's entries to breathe. Resist the impulse to rush; Bach's counterpoint reveals itself in deliberate tempo.
How to use it
Anchor a Baroque concert segment with this as your centerpiece, paired alongside lighter Baroque fare to highlight how Bach's structural mastery intensifies the entire evening. Alternatively, program it mid-season when your ensemble has developed the technical security and stylistic awareness needed for early music.
Skills your students will build
- Multi-voice independence and balance in fugal texture
- Baroque phrasing and articulation conventions
- Reading figured bass reductions
- Sustaining long melodic lines while maintaining textural clarity
- Understanding subject transformation and stretto techniques